Musical instrument of the wind type



Aug. 3, 1965 P. EHRLICH MUSICAL INSTRUMENT OF THE WIND TYPE Filed June 11, 1964 INVENT P/mz f/Ml/ United States Patent 31%,fi5 i in INSTRUMENT 035 THE WIND TYPE Pauli rlich, 524 West End Ave, New York, Filed lune ll, was, tier. No. $1 5,373

5 Qlaims. (6i. W s-film?) The present invention relates to the construction of a windtype musical instrument of the recorder type.

There are a family of musical wind instruments which do not employ reeds, but in which a flow or air through the bore of the instrument impinges upon a partition and a substantial portion of the air iiow is diverted by the partition along a windway to the exterior of the instrument, the windway air flow setting up vibrations or pulsations in a succeeding portion of the instrument bore which are caused to produce desired musical tones by covering and uncovering appropriately positioned holes in the instrument. One instrument of this type which is in widespread use is the recorder. it is particularly useful not only for musical beginners but also for those non-professionals who do not have the time to spend long hours learning the skills required to play more sophisticated types of wind instruments such as clarinets and chess.

Musical instruments of the type under discussion have two very significant drawbacks. One relates to the quality of sound which is produced thereby, and the other relates to the volume of sound which is produced thereby. While recorders and comparable instruments can readily be designed to produce sounds having the proper pitch, corresponding to conventional musical notes, the sounds produced are often shrill and harsh, usually because of an excessive content of certain harmonic overtones. The quality of sound in handmade instruments constructed by craftsmen from carefully selected pieces of wood is sometimes quite acceptable, but such instruments are relatively rare and comparatively expensive. Because of the popularity of recorders and the like, particularly with school children, massproduced recorders made of plastic are offered for sale, but the tonal quality of such instruments is often unsatisfactory, and always leaves something to be desired insofar as true musical tone is concerned.

Volume of sound is controlled by how hard the instrument is blown, but an increase in the intensity with which one blows into the instrument gives rise to an increase in the pitch of whatever note is involved. Thus it is impossi le to produce dynamics in volume without an undesired variation in pitch. The greater the degree to which this phenomenon occurs, the less musically desirable is the instrument, and the more skill is required to play the instrument according to acceptable musical standards.

The prime object of the present invention is to devise wind instruments of the type under discussion in which the quality of the tone produced is enhanced, and the sensitivity of the instrument to how hard it is blown is minimized. It is a second prime object of the present invention to achieve these results by means of a construction which is readily adaptable to mass production and which, for example, may be incorporated into a recorder or other comparable instrument formed of molded plastic material.

The end result is an improvement in recorder design which makes it possible to improve the tone and playability of any recorder and to permit mass-production of recorders having a tone comparable or superior to that of present-day hand-crafted instruments.

1 have discovered that these results can be obtained through a novel shaping and configuration of the partition which defines the windway. That partition, as taught in the prior art, presents an edge to the flow of air emanating from the mouthpiece which is comparatively sharp and which is of substantially uniform height from one side of the instrument to the other. Moreover, according to the prior art, the upper surface of that partition, definin. the windway, has been planar. I have found that if the upper surface of the partition definim the windway is concavely curved from side to side of the instrument, and if the partition edge facing the mouthpiece is provided, at the side extremities thereof, with air-abutment surfaces having an appreciable height which is greater than the height or" the air-abutment surface defined over the intermediate portion of that partition edge, the results described above are reliably attained. Moreover, the specific nature of that curvature, and the specific dimensions of the airabutment surfaces at the side extremities of the partition edge, are not particularly critical, so that such va tions in those features as may be inherent in massproduced items will not appreciably adversely affect the attainment of said results.

Accordingly, in accordance with the present invention, the upper surface of the windway partition, while slanting from the instrument bore to the exterior of the instrument as in the p or art, is shaped to be concave when viewed laterally of the instrument, and is preferably snoothly concavely curved. In addition, the bottom surface of the partition is differently configured from the upper surface-it may be straight, curved in the same sense as the upper surface but to a lesser degree, or even curved in the opposite sense from the upper surface, these shapings being here collectively described as less upwardly concave than said upper surface;hat difference in configuration producing, at the side extremities of the partition edge facing the mouthpiece, the airabutmcnt surfaces of appreciable height mentioned above.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other obiects as ma hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the construction of a wind musical instrument, as defined in the appended claims and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in whic i:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational View of a recorder made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan View, on an enlarged scale, primarily of the mouthpiece and windway portion of the instrument;

PEG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional dof FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary View similar to FIG. 3 but showing an alternative embodiment.

The invention is here described as embodied in that type of wind musical instrument known as a recorder, but it will be understood that this is by way of exemplification only, and not by way of limitation. The body of the instrument, generally designated 2, extends beview taken along the line r, (u) tween a mouthpiece d and an outlet end piece 6, a bore 8 being formed through that body which is provided, at appropriate positions along the length thereof, with air holes ltd designed to be closed or opened, as by the fingers of the player, so as to vary the pitch of the tone produced by the instrument. The mouthpiece 4 is provided with a lipple 12 which, in conjunction with the mouthpiece proper i, defines a slot M which communicates with the bore and through which the player blows. Immediately at the inner end of the fipple 12 the top wall of the in strument body 2 is provided With an opening extending to the exterior of the body, and a partition 18, formed integrally with the body 2, extends toward the air-exit opening of the slot lid, the end edge 2@ of the partition being directed toward and in substantial registration with the slot lld so that the air which is blown through that slot impinges against the edge 2d. Some of that air will flow beneath the partition 18 through the bore 23, and some of that air will be guided by the upper surface 22 of the partition 18 out to the exterior of the body 2, the portion of the instrument through which the last mentioned body of air flows being denominated the windway The construction as thus far described is characteristic of conventional recorders and comparable types of wind musical instruments. In accordance with the present invention, and as may best be seen from FIG. 3, the upper surface 22 of the partition ft in addition to being inclined or slanted axially of the instrument from the partition edge 2%) to the exterior of the body 2, is also concavely curved laterally of the instrument. The specific curvature involved may be varied both as to character and degree. A catenary shape is preferred, but other types of curvature, such as circular arcs, could also be employed. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the lower surface 24 of the partition ildis flat or planar. The embodiment of FIG. 5 differs in that the lower surface 24 is curved in the same sense as the upper surface 22, but to a lesser degree. if desired the lower partition surface 24 could be curved downwardly instead of upwardly. All of these configurations for the lower partition surface 24 are here generically described as being less upwardly concave than the upper partition surface 22. Because of the difference in curvature between the upper and lower partition surfaces 22 and 24, as described, there are defined at the side extremities of the edge 2d portions 26 of appreciable area which face the mouthpiece d and the slot 14 through which air is blown, and which are substantially perpendicular to, and define abutments relative to, the flow of air blown into the instrument by the player. These portions 26 present appreciably greater area than the intermediate portion of the edge 2d. Thus the narrower intermediate portion of the edge 20 sharply divides the air flow into a windway flow and a bore flow, as is conventional, while the side extremity portions 26 define abutments appreciably opposing the flow of air thereover.

The precise acoustical functioning of the partition shaping above described is not at the present time fully understood. It is believed that the lateral curvature of the upper partition surface 22 contributes, in and of itself, to the reduction in higher harmonic overtones, thus improving the musical tone of the instrument, and it is believed that the air-abutment surfaces defined by the edge areas 26, by building up pressure areas within or immediately in advance of the windway Z4, contributes to this enhanced musical tone and makes the proper tonal sounding of the instrument less sensitive to the strength ith which it is blown. Whatever the true physical explanation may be, the shaping of the partition 18 as here escribed produces a marked improvement in the tonal quality of the instrument, permits it to be played with a greater variation in volume while retaining its desired pitch, and permits the attainment of a greater dynamic range of volume without getting out of tune. Moreover,

sense it has been found that, within manufacturing limits, the dimensionin of the partition parts is not particularly critical, the advantageous results characteristic of the construction of the present invention being apparent despite di ferences in those dimensions. Accordingly, through modification of the prior art partition design as here disclosed, it is possible to mass-produce recorder-type instruments, as from molded plastic material, which instruments have a tonal quality at least comparable to that of con ventional hand-made instruments of the highest quality and which instruments are more readily playable, even by persons of minimal skill, than comparable instruments of the prior art.

While but a limited number of embodiments of the present invention have been here disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations may be made therein, all within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A musical instrument comprising a body and a mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and body having communicating air passages therethrough, and a partition in said body having an edge facing said mouthpiece and intercepting said body air passage, said partition extending to and its upper surface freely slantingly communicating between said body air passage and the outside of said body, thereby to define a windway, said partition edge comprising a surface which at the lateral ends thereof has a dimension in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of said body air passage which is appreciably greater than the corresponding dimension of said surface at points between the lateral ends thereof.

2. A musical instrument comprising a body and a mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and body having communicating air passages therethrough, and a partition in said body having an edge facing said mouthpiece and intercepting said body air passage, said partition extending to and its upper surface freely slantingly communicating between said body air passage and the outside of said body, thereby to define a windway, said partition edge comprising a surface which at the lateral ends thereof has a dimension in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of said body air passage which is appreciably greater than the corresponding dimension of said surface at points between the lateral ends thereof, the upper extremity of said surface being smoothly laterally curved.

3. A musical instrument comprising a body and a mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and body having communieating air passages therethrough, and a partition in said body having an edge facing said mouthpiece and intercepting said body air passage, said partition extending to and its upper surface freely slantingly communicating between said body air passage and the outside of said body, thereby to define a windway, said partition edge comprising a surface which at the lateral ends thereof has a dimension in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of said body air passage which is appreciably greater than the corresponding dimension of said surface at points between the lateral ends thereof, the upper extremity of said surface being smoothly laterally curved and the upper surface of said partition being blendingly laterally curved therewith along at least a substantial portion of the length of said partition.

l. A musical instrument comprising a body and a mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and body having communicating air passages therethrough, and a partition in said body having an edge facing said mouthpiece and intercepting said body air passage, said partition extending to and its upper surface freely slantingly communicating between said body air passage and the outside of said body, thereby to define a windway, the upper surface of said partition at said edge being upwardly concave from side to side and the lower surface thereof at said edge being less upwardly concave, the surface of said partition edge thereby defined being substantially perpendicular to the axis of said body air passage, thereby to define edge surface portions of appreciable height at the lateral ends of said edge and facing said mouthpiece.

5. A musical instrument comprising a body and a mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and body having communicating air passage-s therethrough, and a partition in said body having an edge facing said mouthpiece and intercepting said body air passage, said partition extending to and its upper surface freely slantingly communicating between said body air passage and the outside of said body, thereby to define a windway, the upper surface of said partition at said edge being smoothly upwardly concave from side to side in approximately the configuration of a catenary curve and the lower surface thereof at said edge being less upwardly concave, the surface of said partition edge thereby defined being substantially perpendicular to the axis of said body air passage, thereby to define edge surface portions of appreciable height at the lateral ends of said edge and facing said mouthpiece.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS LEO SMILOW, Primary Examiner. 

1. A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A BODY AND A MOUTHPIECE, SAID MOUTHPIECE AND BODY HAVING COMMUNIACTING AIR PASSAGES THERETHROUGH, AND A PARTITION IN SAID BODY HAVING AN EDGE FACING SAID MOUTHPIECE AND INTERCETING SAID BODY AIR PASSAGE, SAID PARTITION EXTENDING TO AND ITS UPPER SURFACE FREELY SLANTINGLY COMMUNICATING BETWEEN SAID BODY AIR PASSAGE AND THE OUTSIDE OF SAID BODY, THEREBY TO DEFINE A WINDWAY, SAID PARTITION EDGE COMPRISING A SURFACE WHICH AT THE LATERAL ENDS THEREOF HAS ADIMENSION IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXIS OF SAID BODY AIR PASSAGE WHICH IS APPRECIABLY GREATER THAN THE CORRESPONDING DIMENSION OF SAID SURFACE AT POINTS BETWEEN THE LATERAL END THEREOF. 